Abstract
THE transmission of information across biological membranes is of obvious importance. In the past, discussions of possible mechanisms for transmembrane linkage, in the absence of transport or permeation, have centred on the role of the integral membrane proteins, which function as receptors1. When the lipids have been discussed in this context, the speculations have centred on their influence on the proteins, by way of a ‘viscotropic’ effect2, induced by changes in ionic strength3 or temperature; that is, it has generally been implicitly assumed that the two lipid monolayers act independently of each other4. A detailed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of the thermal behaviour of small single-walled vesicles composed of synthetic phosphatidylcholines has shown that this is indeed the case for these systems5. In this report, we present evidence that vesicles composed of another class of phospholipid, sphingomyelin, do exhibit coupling between the two monolayers, and thus could be involved in transmembrane communication in biological systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Nicolson, G. L. Biochim. biophys. Acta 457, 57–108 (1976).
Kimelberg, H. K. & Paphadjopoulos, D. Biochim. biophys. Acta 282, 277–292, (1972).
Träuble, H. & Eibl, H. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71, 214–219 (1974).
Träuble, H. in Structure of Biological Membranes 509–550 (Plenum, New York, 1977).
Sillerud, L. O. & Barnett, R. E. Biochemistry (in the Press).
Hertz, R. & Barenholz, Y. Chem. Phys. Lipids 15, 138–156 (1975).
Barenholz, Y., Suurkuusk, T., Mountcastle, D., Thompson, T. E. & Biltonen, R. L. Biochemistry 15, 2441–2447 (1976).
Schmidt C. F., Barenholz, Y. & Thompson, T. E. Biochemistry 16, 2649–2656 (1977).
Abrahamsson, S., Dahlen, B., Lofgren, H., Pascher, I. & Sundell, S. in Structure of Biological Membranes 1–23 (Plenum, New York, 1977), and references therein.
Untracht, S. H. & Shipley, G. G. J. biol. Chem. 252, 4449–4457 (1977).
Rouser, G., Nelson, G. J., Fleischer, S. & Simon, G. in Biological Membranes 1, 5–69 (Academic, London, 1968).
White, D. A. in Form and Function of Phospholipids 441–432 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1973).
Kuksis, A. & Marai, L. Lipids 2, 217–224 (1967).
Trewella, M. A. & Collins, F. D. Biochim. biophys, Acta 296, 51–61 (1973).
Bystrov, V. F., Dubrovina, N. I., Barsukov, L. I. & Bergelson, L. D. Chem. Phys. Lipids 6, 343–350 (1971).
Levine, Y. K., Lee, A. G., Birdsall, N. T. M. & Robinson, J. D. Biochim. biophys. Acta 291, 592–607 (1973).
Sheetz, M. P. & Chan, S. I. Biochemistry 11, 4573–4581 (1972).
Suurkuusk, J., Lentz, B. R., Barenholz, Y., Biltonen, R. L. & Thompson, T. E. Biochemistry 15, 1393–1401 (1976).
Hauser, H., Phillips, M. C., Levine, B. A. & Williams, R. J. P. Eur. J. Biochem. 58, 133–144 (1975).
Ito, T., Ohnishi, S., Ishinaga, M. & Kito, M. Biochemistry 14, 3064–3069 (1975).
Laine, R. A., Stellner, K. & Hakomori, S. in Methods in Membrane Biology 2, 205–244 (Plenum, New York, 1974), and references therein.
Karlsson, K. in Structure of Biological Membranes 245–274 (Plenum, New York 1977).
Fishman, P. H. & Brady, R. O. Science, 194, 906–915 (1976), and references therein.
Patt, S. L. & Sykes, B. D. J. chem. Phys. 56, 3182–3183 (1972).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SCHMIDT, C., BARENHOLZ, Y., HUANG, C. et al. Monolayer coupling in sphingomyelin bilayer systems. Nature 271, 775–777 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271775a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/271775a0
This article is cited by
-
RET-independent signaling by GDNF ligands and GFRα receptors
Cell and Tissue Research (2020)
-
Transbllayer effects of n-alkanols on the fluidity of phospholipid model membranes
Archives of Pharmacal Research (1992)
-
Molecular packing and stability in the gel phase of curved phosphatidylcholine vesicles
Lipids (1981)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.